# Cedar vs Spanish Cedar for long term box storage



## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

Hey all.... I was curious about how using a Lane solid cedar chest would be for long term storing of my boxed stogies. Should I completely reline with 1/4" spanish cedar? What are you guys thoughts? The reason I am thinking about this is because I just maxed out my coolidor and need more space and instead of collecting coolers, I would like to get a nice wood chest that I can store my boxes in. I cruise Craigslist to see what it is out there and I see a lot of Lane solid cedar chests like this:







Top shelf, I can put a bunch of singles and/or accessories like lighters and cutters and have decent amount of space for my boxes below.


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## Ming on Mongo (May 15, 2015)

Only thing I'd be concerned about is if it ever had mothballs and there's any residual odor. Otherwise, looks good!


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## SticknGrind (Jun 12, 2015)

One of the things that I would be concerned about is that American Red Cedar, which is what Lane uses, has a strong cedar smell and it may change the way the cigars smell and taste. You could look into Killz Odor Blocking Paint and put down a couple of coats then line it with Spanish Cedar. I think American Red Cedar smell also goes away after years, so it may not smell too bad at all, depending on how old the chest is.


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

SticknGrind said:


> One of the things that I would be concerned about is that American Red Cedar, which is what Lane uses, has a strong cedar smell and it may change the way the cigars smell and taste. You could look into Killz Odor Blocking Paint and put down a couple of coats then line it with Spanish Cedar. I think American Red Cedar smell also goes away after years, so it may not smell too bad at all, depending on how old the chest is.


Thanks! I didn't think about the strong smell. Does the Killz paint put off a chemically odor or is it odor free. I would guess odor free since it is odor blocking....but that would make too much sense..lol


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

Ming on Mongo said:


> Only thing I'd be concerned about is if it ever had mothballs and there's any residual odor. Otherwise, looks good!


mothballs, then my cigars would smell like at my grandparents house...no thank you! lol


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## NormH3 (Apr 20, 2015)

I always wondered why people put mothballs in a cedar chest. Wasn't the idea behind cedar chests to keep moths out anyway? I though cedar was a natural moth deterrent.


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## StogieNinja (Jul 29, 2009)

I would not put my cigars in that thing.

There's a HUGE difference between cedar and Spanish cedar. Spanish cedar is actually a type of mahogany. 

I wouldn't recommend using Killz on anything inside a humidor, as it's not meant to be used in food-grade applications, and I wouldn't want that stuff marinating inside my humidor!

If you want a wood chest to put your cigars in, I would recommend a non-aromatic wood, and I would personally recommend NOT using it as a humidor. I would get large, airtight food-storage containers, or possibly coolers, and store them inside the wooden box. Trying to maintain a huge box like that which isn't built to be airtight as a humidor sounds like a supreme pain, even if you lined it with Spanish Cedar.


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## SeanTheEvans (Dec 13, 2013)

Aninjaforallseasons said:


> I would not put my cigars in that thing.
> 
> There's a HUGE difference between cedar and Spanish cedar. Spanish cedar is actually a type of mahogany.
> 
> ...


+1 - stay far away from this whole idea


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## Ming on Mongo (May 15, 2015)

elco69 said:


> mothballs, then my cigars would smell like at my grandparents house...no thank you! lol


Yeah, save it for those occasional "Nostalgia" sticks&#8230; now there's the ticket! :mrgreen:


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## c.ortiz108 (Nov 16, 2013)

Aninjaforallseasons said:


> I would not put my cigars in that thing.
> 
> There's a HUGE difference between cedar and Spanish cedar. Spanish cedar is actually a type of mahogany.
> 
> ...


+1. I have an antique cedar chest and the smell is still strong. I keep comics in it, but never would I put cigars in there. Spanish cedar is a totally different thing.


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## Ming on Mongo (May 15, 2015)

I use Kilz a lot as a sealer/primer on rentals to cover up cigarette smoke, pet odors and mildew that gets into the wallpaint. It has a shellac/oil base that sticks to pretty near anything, but an extended drying of at least a couple weeks would be recommended to avoid the volatiles affecting something as 'close quarters' and absorbent as cigars. There's also a water-based version, but have never had the same success with it.

Of course if you wanna keep the look of the cedar, a couple good coats of matte polyurethane would also probably do the trick.


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

Yeah, I don't want to risk my stash on getting a heavy red cedar odor, just not worth the risk. I think that I may end up getting a 150qt cooler and build a custom box for it. I have about 100 sq. ft. of American Cherry hardwood flooring left over from our remodel. I can build a box, rust out and seal some angle iron for the corner brackets and some old hinges.


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## SeanTheEvans (Dec 13, 2013)

elco69 said:


> Yeah, I don't want to risk my stash on getting a heavy red cedar odor, just not worth the risk. I think that I may end up getting a 150qt cooler and build a custom box for it. I have about 100 sq. ft. of American Cherry hardwood flooring left over from our remodel. I can build a box, rust out and seal some angle iron for the corner brackets and some old hinges.


I'm curious as to why you would need any box in addition to the cooler?


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## StogieNinja (Jul 29, 2009)

SeanTheEvans said:


> I'm curious as to why you would need any box in addition to the cooler?


Aesthetics.


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## stonecutter2 (Jul 12, 2012)

NormH3 said:


> I always wondered why people put mothballs in a cedar chest. Wasn't the idea behind cedar chests to keep moths out anyway? I though cedar was a natural moth deterrent.


Yep. No need for mothballs in cedar chests.


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## stonecutter2 (Jul 12, 2012)

elco69 said:


> Yeah, I don't want to risk my stash on getting a heavy red cedar odor, just not worth the risk. I think that I may end up getting a 150qt cooler and build a custom box for it. I have about 100 sq. ft. of American Cherry hardwood flooring left over from our remodel. I can build a box, rust out and seal some angle iron for the corner brackets and some old hinges.


This sounds cool, put up some pics of the process


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## whodeeni (Nov 3, 2009)

I used one with no issues. It no longer had the smell. One day the back hinge broke and I was going to get moon**** (can't remember his username) to fix it (and make some mods for me. 

Unfortunately, he ended up moving to SC before we could work out the logistics!


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